The Will Of The World Tree

Chapter 12 Disappointed

"The Chosen Ones are here!"

Inside the Temple of Nature, Alice, who had been praying with her eyes closed, snapped them open. Her emerald eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation. Sensing the massive ripples of spatial energy, she stood up, smoothing her priestly gown.

Simultaneously, Eve's majestic and solemn voice echoed in her mind:

"Alice, assist the Chosen Ones in becoming familiar with this world."

For some reason, the Mother Goddess sounded slightly weary.

The summoning must have taken a great toll on Her... Alice thought, her heart swelling with emotion. To work so hard for our future immediately upon awakening... I cannot let her down!

With newfound determination and a heart full of piety, Alice bowed to the statue, traced a tree-shaped symbol over her chest, and hurried toward the massive trunk of the World Tree.

As she stepped out of the temple, a wave of shouting and cheering hit her.

"The Chosen Ones!" Her eyes lit up. She quickly adjusted her hair, patted her cheeks to make sure she looked welcoming, and mentally rehearsed her greeting. She began to walk toward the noise with an elegant, practiced grace.

What are they like? The beings our Mother values so highly...

As a young elf not yet three hundred years old, Alice harbored a romanticized image of these legendary heroes. In her mind, she saw warriors like those in the old stories: riding noble unicorns, clad in resplendent armor, wielding holy staves and swords blessed by the gods. They would be handsome, humble, mysterious, and powerful. Most importantly, they would possess the iron discipline of the legendary Nature Legion.

She felt a flutter of nerves. Don't be silly, Alice... You are the Saintess! You must represent Her Majesty with dignity!

She pushed aside a cluster of leaves, finally laying eyes on the "heroes" she so admired...

Chaos!

Nearly three hundred elves, dressed in coarse linen and rough wooden scraps, were swarming the branches in a disorganized mess. Some were wrestling and shouting, some were shooting sparks of magic into the air, and others were using wooden knives to frantically scrape bark off the tree or pull at the leaves. One was even standing on a high branch, singing at the top of his lungs.

Even more shocking, several male elves, glowing with a faint holy "censorship" light, were running around completely n***d, leaping between branches like squirrels.

"Damn, this bark is tough! I can't even chip it with a knife!"

"My gear! Who stole my pants?"

"What skills did you guys have? I got Cross s***h!"

"Does anyone know where the mini-map is?"

From a player's perspective, this was understandable—the game was so realistic they wanted to test every physical interaction. But to a native elf, the scene was catastrophic.

The sweet smile froze on Alice's face.

"These are... the Chosen Ones?" She rubbed her eyes, certain she was hallucinating. She took a deep breath and looked again.

"Hey! I dropped those boots, don't touch them!"

"They don't have your name on them, do they?"

"Where's the tutorial NPC? I thought we'd get a guide!"

Alice felt something shatter inside her soul. The contrast between their beautiful, noble elven forms and their crude, barbaric behavior was enough to overturn her entire worldview. She stood there, mouth agape, her mind a whirling void of confusion.

What is happening? Aren't they the favorites of the Goddess? Aren't they supposed to be wise and noble? How can these elves be as undisciplined as Goblins, as rude as Orcs, and possess absolutely no sense of shame?!

Suddenly, she noticed a group of players trying to carve their names into the bark of the World Tree. Rage surged through her, and she couldn't help but scream:

"STOP! What are you doing?! Do not be disrespectful to the Mother Goddess!"

The crisp, sharp voice cut through the air. In an instant, three hundred pairs of eyes of various colors fixed on her.

The atmosphere fell into a bizarre silence. Stared down by hundreds of "heroes," Alice felt a wave of nervousness. She took a half-step back, trying to maintain her composure despite her trembling voice.

"Wh... what are you looking at? Even if you are the ones chosen by Her Majesty, you cannot be rude to Her physical form..."

The players looked at each other, and the silence broke into a cacophony of noise.

"An elven girl?"

"Whoa... she's so cute!"

"She doesn't have a name tag over her head! She's an NPC!"

"Duh! Look at that gear. If she looks that cool, she's definitely the main quest-giver!"

"The facial expressions are so vivid! It doesn't feel like a stiff AI at all!"

"Can I touch your priest dress?"

Because Eve had adjusted the translation protocols, the players' slang was automatically converted into the language of Segas. Alice understood every single lewd and disrespectful word. Her face turned bright red, her body shaking with anger.

"Is she blushing? The interaction is amazing!"

"Wait... I think she's actually mad..."

"Come on guys, even if it's an AI, stop being so rude!"

"Who rolled Appraisal? Check her stats!"

"I have it! Let me see... Her name is Alice Gale, class is Nature Priest, level is... obscured. Wait! Appraisal unlocks a hidden 'Affinity' bar? Holy crap! Why is my affinity with her negative?! It's still dropping!"

"Hahaha! It's probably because your character is too ugly!"

Alice was trembling so hard her teeth were chattering. Calm down! Calm down, Alice! This must be a test from the Mother Goddess! You cannot fail Her!

"Why isn't she talking?"

"Her hair is so long! I wonder if it feels real..."

Suddenly, the n***d player from before—the one who had "lost" his clothes—slipped forward and reached a sneaky hand out toward Alice's golden hair.

Startled and acting on pure instinct, Alice swung her wooden staff.

A burst of brilliant holy light erupted. With a piercing scream, the player with the green name [Demacia] was blasted backward by a protective spell and fell straight off the branch of the World Tree.

So weak!

That was Alice's first thought.

Oh no! I... I killed a Chosen One!

That was her second.

Horrified, Alice rushed to the edge of the branch and looked down, but the unlucky player had already vanished into the misty canopy below.

"Mother Nature, have mercy! I... I've murdered a Chosen One!"

Behind her, the other players didn't look worried at all. In fact, they burst into cheers and laughter.

"Level 1, and he tries to harass the high-level NPC? He deserved it!"

"Hahahahaha! First death on the server goes to Demacia!"

Alice spun around, staring at the laughing crowd in utter disbelief. They saw their companion die, and they were... excited?

These Chosen Ones... she thought, her brain finally short-circuiting, is there something wrong with their heads?